Another late April movie I’m just now getting to, but don’t worry, this is just one of many new reviews coming out today. Plus, this film is actually really good and it’d be a shame for you to miss out on it.
What Works: This film about three bodybuilders who enter a life of crime (the tagline: “Their American Dream is Bigger Than Yours”) to become upwardly mobile has everything going against it: It’s a Michael Bay film, The Rock is co-lead, there’s gratuitous slow motion in addition to being set in 90’s Miami, it’s too long, and black comedy is notoriously difficult to pull off, let alone when it’s a true story.
I’m happy to say this subverted and surpassed all my expectations. It’s easily the best film Michael Bay has ever directed…ever, and probably will ever direct. And——and I never thought I’d say this———he’s actually a perfect fit for the material, since only he can make 3 psychotic bodybuilders into likable leading characters. Any other director would have seen them as bullies, but Bay lets them exist in their realm. Wahlberg is especially good in the type of roll he excels in. Anyone who’s seen I Heart Huckabees or The Other Guys knows that he’s excellent when playing buffed-up, dumbed-down lunkheads in a panic spiral. He’s got seriously underrated comedic skills, and he sells the material better than just about anyone else on the planet could.
What Doesn’t Work: Tony Shaolub’s “victim” is so unlikable we’re told at least a dozen times how unlikable he is. I have no idea if this is the truth in the real life case, but the criticism that Bay is perhaps a little too sympathetic to these convicted criminals is a valid one. Also, the film is a little too long and loses a little of its momentum in the third act (about the time Ed Harris shows up).
What I Would Have Done Differently: Are you kidding? It’s a straight up miracle that a Michael Bay can be this good, and I’ll thank God for small miracles and let it go.